Summer Must-Haves

Camouflage That Bump With The Adalyn Dress

July 7, 2011

Those of you attempting to hide a new pregnancy or camouflage the remnants of an old one are well-advised to consider Alice & Olivia’s Adalyn Keyhole Pleated Maxi Dress. The plunging neckline and exposed back don’t necessarily scream maternitywear, but the pleating throughout the bottom half of the dress does bone fide wonders for a protruding belly. The dress is silk, but because of the small pleats, the dress does not lay completely flat across the front and instead hangs loosely from the elasticized empire waist. The loose effect is the same in the back, which is also often useful during those first few months of a pregnancy or after a pregnancy. Wearing a bra with this dress would be difficult–you’ll need to find a strapless bra with a low back and a plunging neckline.

The Adalyn dress comes in an array of fun summer colors, including the very practical black as well as the not-so-practical yellow. It also comes in the bright kelly green pictured here, although the green sells out quickly and has already disappeared from Shopbop and from Singer22 . I managed to snag a green dress from Shopbop before they disappeared, and I can vouch for the fact that this is the kind of dress that prompts people to stop you on the street and ask where you bought it. Bergdorf Goodman still has the green Adalyn dress available in limited sizes.

Do note that this dress is incredibly sheer. I strongly suggest throwing on one of your favorite Spanx pieces underneath. If donning Spanx in July isn’t for you, plan to wear a half slip.

Share

Tagged as: Dresses, Not Quite Pregnant

{ 0 comments }

Shop Australia’s End-Of-Summer Sales Right Now

February 16, 2011

As I’ve written before, Australia and New Zealand are home to some incredibly trendy maternity boutiques. Although I’ve never actually been to Australia or New Zealand, I imagine both places are simply chocked full of incredibly well-dressed pregnant women. No denim maternity dungarees allowed down under.

The best part about the maternity fashion industry down under? It holds its “end-of-summer” sales in February. Just as we residents of the northern hemisphere are readying ourselves to buy summer clothing, the Aussies put theirs on sale. And now that the top Australian online maternity boutiques are offering flat rate worldwide shipping, there’s no reason not to shop Australia’s end-of-summer sales right now while you’re still freezing your pregnant butt off in the USA.

One on the Way Maternity has a great sale on here right now, with sizeable discounts on many of Australian’s homegrown maternity lines, like Mishka ‘n Milka, Soon Melbourne, and, of course, Ripe Maternity. The Ripe Maxi Dress, which is about to sell for approximately $110 this spring in the US, is discounted here to $65, and is still available in almost all sizes in both deep purple and blue. This adorable Mishka ‘n Milka sun dress at left is discounted to $199.95. Many of the sale items are only available in limited sizes, but perhaps today is your lucky day.

Glowmama Maternity has a smaller sale selection available here, but it includes some ideal basics from the fun, trendy Australian-designed Szabo Maternity collection and the discounts are big. Szabo’s cute, lightweight cargo pants are still available in both black and khaki, and this blue-printed summer skirt is still available–sizes are very limited.

Sweet Lilly Maternity, home of the fabulous Australian-based maternity line Lilly B, has a great selection of summer items on sale here, including this cotton chintz flowered sundress at left by Lilly B. This sundress is still available here and is reduced 50% to $74.99.

And this tri-color maxi dress pictured at right also designed by Lilly B is discounted by 60% to $78.80 and is still available in two colors. I just love this dress. If you wear this out and about this summer, you can be sure none of the other pregnant Americans you run into will also have it on.

Over in New Zealand, Maternity World is offering a good selection of Ripe Maternity’s Summer 2010/2011 Collection at a modest discount here. Shorts, sundresses, bathing suits–they are all available in limited sizes . The Ripe Camellia dress pictured here is reduced to NZD $119.90 (USD $90) and is still available in a size Small. A large array of New Zealand maternity/nursing lingerie designer Hotmilk’s most recent collection is also on sale at Maternity World here. Here in the US, Hotmilk is synonymous with racy maternity and nursing lingerie but it turns out that you can, in fact, buy yourself a pair of relatively modest, comfy Hotmilk maternity PJ’s in this sale. You can also, of course, also buy yourself a navy blue lace bra and matching French knickers entitled “Her Midnight Charm was Striking” and discounted by 30% in this sale as well. To each her own…

**2/18: Maternity World saw this posting and has offered PF readers 10% off any purchase from the site with promo code “PREGNANTFASHIONISTA” from now through the end of February

Share

{ 6 comments }

Never Too Late For A Beach Cover-Up, Especially When It Is 70% Off

August 23, 2010

I know that summer is just about over, but I spent the weekend on Martha’s Vineyard with a pregnant friend and I am quite taken with her FEM by T-Bags’ beach cover-ups. I had noticed this cover-up for sale before, but had never focused on the fact that it is made from terrycloth. Throw this cover-up on over a wet bathing suit and you don’t have to worry about it being soaking wet in all the most unflattering places. You can’t even tell when it’s wet.  Plus, it’s cute enough to wear as a dress, especially perfect if you are at the stage where a bathing suit at the beach is no longer an option.  This cover-up is discounted 70% here at Blossom and is now priced at a mere GBP 35 (USD $55). Buy it now, wear it for your Labor Day beach trip and then pull it out again for your winter babymoon on that Caribbean island. Or, if that exotic babymoon isn’t happening, you can just wear it when you get out of the shower. In fact, now that I think about it, it would be perfect to wear at the hospital after the nurses make you take that first painful shower and you are in so much pain, you simply cannot even fathom drying your own body off. If you can manage to pull this over your head, you will not only be dry, but undoubtedly be the most fashionable new mom on the maternity unit.

Share

{ 0 comments }

Maternity Shorts? Sometimes You Just Have To…

July 2, 2010

If you scroll through nearly three years of blog postings on this site, one thing you’ll never find is a recommendation for maternity shorts. Here’s the thing–pregnant women don’t look right in shorts. We’ve all seen that rare pregnant woman whose pregnancy has curiously not impacted the rest of her body and she still looks amazing in short shorts. But for every one pregnant woman who can get away with the short shorts look, there are 100 women who simply cannot. Having been one of the pregnant women who simply cannot several times over, I have refrained from buying shorts during my pregnancies and consequently, have refrained from suggesting that you buy shorts during your pregnancy.

That being said, I do own maternity shorts and I have worn them out in public even knowing it was not my best ensemble. Look, sometimes you’re pregnant and it is summertime and it is just damned hot. I never wore maternity “short shorts”–I knew better than that and my thighs tend to bear the brunt of my pregnancies almost immediately. But I do own two pairs of longer maternity shorts and in the spirit of the summer holiday, I am recommending my Ripe knee-length maternity shorts to you. I found that if I opted for a pair of very simple, well-tailored shorts in dark colors, I did not feel exceptionally short and fat (well, maybe just a little bit short and a little bit fat).

But even I concede that there are those situations in which maternity fashion needs to be practical. If your pregnant self is going to be sitting on a lawn watching fireworks on Sunday night, maybe a dress isn’t your best option–instead, shorts are a very good idea. Ripe’s Tomboy Maternity shorts have no embellishments and are cut with an under-the-belly band to be well-fitted through the hips and thighs. There is nothing extra to these shorts and I find that to be the exact reason why they are worth owning. I wouldn’t buy these shorts in white, because I just don’t think there is a pregnant woman out there who should be wearing them in a light color. But in black, they work well with a tank top for casual wear, as well as with a nice blouse and for a summer night out. Ripe’s Tomboy Maternity Shorts are available here in black at Bellydance Maternity for USD $84.

Share

{ 0 comments }

Maternal America’s New Maxi Dress Has Something Extra Special

June 15, 2010

I’ve been waiting for Maternal America’s new maxi dress to show up for sale online and it popped up last week at Due Maternity. Why is this maxi dress different than all of the other maternity maxi dresses out there? Because it has built-in cups. I don’t know if any of you have yet tried to wear a strapless bra while pregnant, but it is not easy. Besides the usual problems with keeping strapless bras up, wearing one while pregnant presents an additional problem–keeping it down. The strapless bra simply is not designed to have a large, protruding belly jostling around underneath it. On the rare occasions when I did attempt to wear a strapless bra during my pregnancies, I frequently had to check and make sure the entire thing hadn’t popped up out the top of my dress.

I saw this particular dress as a sample and I concluded that more maternity designers should design pieces with built-in cups. It’s obviously not for every pregnant woman, but on a hot summer night, if you are only mildly pregnant, it’s nice to still be able to throw on a lightweight summer dress and not worry about all of the machinery you have to rig up underneath…and, of course, whether that machinery is showing. That being said, this dress is not lined in any way and is made from a rayon/spandex blend, so it really is the ultimate lightweight summer dress. While you may not need to wear a bra, you might be well advised to consider pulling on those Mama Spanx before leaving the house.

The dress is currently only available in navy here at Due for USD $148, but Maternal America has released the dress in black and teal as well. It is already sold out in size M, but I am very optimistic we will see it pop up in other boutiques in coming days (such is the blessing and curse of Maternal America–you can find it absolutely everywhere).

Share

{ 0 comments }